[Overview]
<p>Emboar may look like a slower Entei at first glance, but upon further examination, you will find that Emboar has a lot to set itself apart. While it's true that Entei is faster and has priority in the form of ExtremeSpeed, Emboar boasts a neutrality to Stealth Rock, a powerful secondary STAB, as well as access to multiple boosting moves, allowing it to run a variety of sets. However, team support to ameliorate its lack of defenses and Speed is almost certainly required. All in all, Emboar requires a good deal of team support, but can help immensely if used right.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Wild Charge
move 3: Superpower / Hammer Arm
move 4: Earthquake / Head Smash
item: Choice Band
ability: Blaze
nature: Adamant
evs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With such a high Attack stat and low Speed stat, Emboar is just screaming for a Choice Band set. Flare Blitz is the obligatory STAB move to crush bones and raze villages with. Wild Charge is a huge boon to any Fire-type because it allows them beat bulky Water-types, and Emboar is no exception; with Wild Charge and the given Speed EVs, Emboar can outspeed and 2HKO 104 / 176 Impish Alomomola. The next move is up to personal preference. Superpower is the primary option, because Emboar will be switching in and out a lot and won't mind the stat drops as much. Hammer Arm could also be used, but the power difference is notable. The last move slot is basically a filler option, though neither Earthquake nor Head Smash provide substantial additional coverage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>To show how powerful Emboar is with this set, here are some damage calculations against the common walls seen in RU:</p>
<ul class="damage_calculation">
<li>Flare Blitz vs 252/252 Bold Weezing: 58.7% - 69.5% </li>
<li>Flare Blitz vs 252/252 Impish Dusknoir: 61.6% - 72.8%</li>
<li>Flare Blitz vs 252/136 Bold Cofagrigus: 58.1% - 68.4%</li>
<li>Flare Blitz vs 224/252 Impish Crustle: 55.3% - 65.1%</li>
<li>Flare Blitz vs 252/252 Impish Sandslash: 59.3% - 69.8%</li>
<li>Flare Blitz vs 252/252 Bold Claydol: 66.7% - 78.7%</li>
<li>Flare Blitz vs 252/252 Impish Eviolite Gligar: 43.1% - 51.2%</li>
<li>Flare Blitz / Superpower vs 252/96 Relaxed Steelix: 81.9% - 97.2%</li>
<li>Flare Blitz vs 252/252 Relaxed Tangrowth: 95% - 111.9%</li>
<li>Wild Charge vs 104/176 Impish Alomomola: 55.9% - 66% </li>
<li>Wild Charge vs 252/252 Impish Poliwrath: 60.4% - 71.4%</li>
<li>-1 Wild Charge vs 252/252 Impish Qwilfish: 53.9% - 63.5%</li>
<li>Superpower vs 104/176 Impish Alomomola: 55.7% - 65.8%</li>
<li>Superpower vs 252/252 Relaxed Quagsire: 63.2% - 74.6% </li>
<li>Superpower vs 12/252 Impish Hariyama: 70.8% - 83.3%</li>
<li>Superpower vs 244/104 Impish Mandibuzz: 58.3% - 68.5%</li>
<p>This set is best used as a wallbreaker that sets up the field for physical sweepers, as Emboar can OHKO or 2HKO almost every wall in RU with the right move. The EVs are designed to provide maximum Attack, outspeed base 70s with no investment, and increase Emboar's bulk, with the Adamant nature maximizing Emboar's damage output. An alternate spread of 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe is usable to outspeed minimum Speed Gligar and Qwifish, but is not recommended due to the severe drop in bulk, which Emboar needs in order to survive its recoil and make up for its puny defenses.</p>
<p>Grass Knot is an additional option in the last move slot, but it really only hits Quagsire. Emboar pairs nicely with Durant because it resists Durant's Fire-type weakness and can break down the walls—especially Steel-types—that might give Durant trouble. In a similar manner, Moxie Honchkrow is a good partner; Emboar both breaks down Steel-type walls and resists the Ice-type moves aimed at Honchkrow, also attracting Earthquakes and other Ground-type moves for Honchkrow to switch in on. Because recoil will stack up, a teammate that can pass Wishes is a major blessing. Alomomola is a good choice in this regard because it passes Wishes, resists Water-type moves, and draws in Grass-type moves for Emboar to come in on. Ironically, Alomomola is also a great check to Emboar, because if the Emboar user doesn't predict the switch, Alomomola can wall him for days.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Flare Blitz
move 2: Wild Charge
move 3: Superpower
move 4: Head Smash / Earthquake
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Slapping a Choice Scarf on Emboar is a perfect way to solve his Speed problem, as with a Choice Scarf, Emboar can outspeed every unboosted Pokemon in the tier bar Accelgor while still hitting very hard. Again, Flare Blitz is Emboar's main move to hit a lot of opponents super effectively. Wild Charge is useful to take down bulky Waters, but it's now impossible to get the 2HKO on Alomomola without Choice Band's boost. The third slot is Superpower because Emboar will be switching out a lot, so it won't mind the drops as much; Hammer Arm on a Choice Scarf set is just silly. Although Head Smash provides little additional coverage, it is the primary slash for the fourth moveslot because it can OHKO Altaria; Earthquake is also an option for the slightly harder hit on Qwilfish, though it does little else.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A set like this one is best used to revenge kill Pokemon that are still too healthy to be picked off by priority. Even with a Jolly nature, Emboar is still capable of hitting hard. Choice Scarf and a Jolly nature are needed to outspeed base 120s and slower. The EVs are to provide maximum power and speed; the remainder is placed in HP.</p>
<p>Team support is required more for this set than the Choice Band set, simply due to Emboar's lower damage output. Without Choice Band's boost, Emboar cannot 2HKO Alomomola with Wild Charge. A good teammate in this aspect is thus Choice Specs Sceptile, which can destroy Alomomola with Leaf Storm. Also, any Poison- or Steel-type can come in easily on Alomomola due to their immunity to Toxic. An example would be Weezing, which is immune to Toxic, takes little damage from Waterfall, and can cripple Alomomola with Toxic. Honchkrow is again a good teammate because Emboar can defeat the Rock- and Steel-types who would stop a Honchkrow sweep, and Honchkrow can switch in on the Ground-type attacks aimed at Emboar. Wish support is much more necessary on this set. Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, and Head Smash recoil will really start to build up, especially without much HP investment.</p>
[SET]
name: Flame Charge
move 1: Flame Charge
move 2: Flare Blitz / Fire Blast
move 3: Wild Charge
move 4: Superpower / Earthquake / Head Smash
item: Expert Belt / Life Orb
ability: Blaze
nature: Jolly / Naive
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is Emboar's best chance for pulling off a sweep. Flame Charge is necessary on this set to boost Emboar's Speed up to respectable levels. Flare Blitz is Emboar's strongest Fire-type move; however, Fire Blast can be used if you dislike recoil on a sweeper with minimal HP investment. Wild Charge ensures Emboar isn't walled by bulky Water-types such as Alomomola. The last spot is for some coverage, and each move has its own pros and cons. Superpower is a very powerful move and provides the most coverage, but has a nasty side effect of lowering Emboar's Attack and Defense, which is not good for a sweeper. Earthquake provides lesser coverage, but has no drawbacks whatsoever. Head Smash provides about as much coverage as Earthquake and is quite strong, but has costly recoil and middling accuracy.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Expert Belt is the primary option because Emboar can bluff a Choice item and still possess power on a lot of his attacks, thanks to his great coverage; the lack of recoil also helps immensely. However, Life Orb can be used if you want consistent power and don't mind if Emboar dies extremely quickly. The EVs and nature are to allow Emboar to outspeed base 120s after one Flame Charge and outspeed all Choice Scarf users with base 100 Speed after two. Obviously, you would pick Jolly if you chose Flare Blitz and Naive if you chose Fire Blast.</p>
<p>Because this set is for sweeping, Emboar will need much more team support than he will for the Choice sets. Stealth Rock is necessary because Emboar will only have a chance to sweep once its checks and counters are eliminated. Gligar is a hard stop to this set, taking minimal damage from even Flare Blitz. Cryonogal makes a great teammate due to its ability to reliably check Gligar. Alomomola, and to a lesser extent Qwilfish, are also checks to this set; they can stall out Emboar, killing him with just the recoil damage piled up. Galvantula is a good teammate in this regard, because it can take out troublesome Water-types with a STAB Thunder and also scare off Gligar with a Hidden Power Ice.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Emboar has a lot of other options, but just doesn't have the stats to use them. It could use a Bulk Up set, but lacks the defenses and a reliable recovery move to run this effectively. Heat Crash and Heavy Slam are interesting concepts, but because the damage is based on the difference between Emboar's and the opponent's weight, they are gimmicky and situational at best. An all-out offensive Life Orb set could be used, but Emboar would die just too quickly due to heavy recoil. Grass Knot could be used on either of the first two sets in the last slot, but the only notable Pokemon hit harder by it is Quagsire. Hidden Power Ice could also be used in the last slot to hit his main counter, Gligar. Scald is hilarious on a Fire-type, but is of no real use otherwise. A Choice Specs set with Overheat, Grass Knot, Flamethrower, and a Hidden Power wouldn't be bad. Emboar works very well with Trick Room support; just be sure to use 0 Speed IVs and EVs with a Brave nature if you plan to use it that way.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Emboar is so powerful that one shouldn't expect this list to be long. Gligar isn't 2HKOed by any of Emboar's attacks except Hidden Power Ice or a sun-boosted Choice Band Flare Blitz, and can either stall out Emboar with the recoil damage or just go straight for KO with STAB Earthquake. Intimidate Qwilfish can also cause problems, as it is not 2HKOed by any attack except Choice Band Wild Charge. Outside of these, the best way to check Emboar is to revenge kill it. Faster Pokemon with STAB Water / Flying / Psychic / Ground moves can put Emboar in its place; Sharpedo, Swellow, Medicham, and Dugtrio are great examples of such. Take note, however, that none of these Pokemon can switch into Emboar directly for fear of being OHKOed.</p>
[Dream World]
<p>Reckless would be bittersweet for Emboar. While the increase in power would be useful to 2HKO Gligar, the increased recoil from Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, and Head Smash would be border-line suicidal.</p>
